Court allows Progress-Pride flag in Berlin primary school!

Court allows Progress-Pride flag in Berlin primary school!

On June 25, 2025, the administrative court in Berlin decided that the self-painted "Progress-Pride" flag can be hung in the after-school care center of a primary school. This is a significant judgment, since it happened at a time when the debate about state neutrality and the visibility of queer identities in educational institutions is intensively conducted. The flag is a variant that shows a wedge in the colors pink, light blue, white, black and brown on the left side, supplemented by a yellow triangle with purple circle.

The plaintiffs, a family with their daughter who attended primary school, had asked to remove the flag. Their argument was based on the state neutrality requirement, which in her opinion was violated, and they feared that the flag had inadmissible. The administrative court, however, dismissed the lawsuit in full and found that the state neutrality requirement in the educational area does not mean that evaluating content must be dispensed with. The decision underlines that the flag is a symbol of the self -image of certain groups and their right to free identity formation. It is also considered a protective symbol for those affected in the after -school care center.

The context of the progress-pride flag

The "Progress-Pride" flag is an extended version of the classic rainbow flag and was designed in 2018 by Daniel Qasar, a non-binary graphic designer. It adds five colors and symbols to the original flag, which targeted the visibility of queer blacks, people of color and trans-people. The original rainbow flag, which was developed by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco in 1978, stands for pride and empowerment of oppressed marginal groups. Since its introduction, it has developed into an important symbol of homophobia and sexism and is presented worldwide at Pride events, including in Berlin, where the flag was first raised on public buildings in 1996.

The colors of the original rainbow flag symbolize different aspects of human life: red for life, orange for health, yellow for sun, green for nature, blue for harmony and violet for mind. Over the years, this symbolism has been added to an additional dimension, which enables the community to represent even more differently. In particular, the combination with the Intersex flag, which is yellow with a purple circle, focuses on the struggle for the rights of intersexual persons. This merger was officially visible in Berlin in 2022.

response to the decision

The court also rejected a lawsuit that was directed against coloring pages with Drag Queens, since the school had already taken measures to no longer be exposed. This made it clear that the judges saw no sufficient risk of repetition. Parents and interested parties can submit an application to the judgment at the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court against the judgment.

The decision of the court is an important step in the legal recognition of queer identities in the school context. It shows that schools are not only places of learning but also of identity formation. In the course of the LGBTQ+movement and its ongoing efforts for visibility and acceptance, the importance of such symbols will continue to increase, not only in Germany, but worldwide.

For further details and backgrounds for the development of the Progress-Pride flag and other Pride symbols, readers can consult the following articles: berlin.de href = "https://utopia.de/ratgeber/progress-pride-forschichte-design-und-sie-bisher-haengt_324898/"> utopia.de , and queer-lexikon.net .